Seahawks look to get ground game going against LA Rams

Coach Mike Macdonald has faith the Seattle Seahawks are going to get their ground game going.

The Seahawks have lost four of five after a 3-0 start and hope to shift the season back in their favor on Sunday at home against their NFC West rival, the Los Angeles Rams. A key to putting the season back on track is clearly the running game.

Seattle has the league’s No. 1 passing offense, led by veteran quarterback Geno Smith. But rushing-wise, the Seahawks are managing an average of just 89.3 yards on the ground per game. Only four teams in the league have lower averages.

The Seahawks fell at home 31-10 last weekend to the Buffalo Bills, which dropped the team into a first-place tie in the NFC West. Seattle rushed for a season-low 32 yards against Buffalo, with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet rushing 12 times for 16 yards.

Walker is the team's top rusher with 315 yards on 74 carries and six touchdowns.

“We’re going to get it figured out. I mean, we’re going to be a good run team, going to have an efficient offense," Macdonald said. “I do feel like I’m a little bit of a broken record every week, but I do feel optimistic talking to the coaches and watching the tape.”

The Rams (3-4) played at home last Thursday, beating Minnesota 30-20.

The Rams' run defense is ranked 23rd in the NFL, allowing an average of 139.1 yards a game. They’ve allowed six rushing touchdowns. Overall, the Rams are allowing opponents 351.7 total yards a game.

“We’re going to get this thing rolling," Macdonald said hopefully. "I think once you complement getting the run game going with all the other mechanisms we have in our offense and our system and all of our skill guys and the way Geno’s throwing the ball, I think that could be a really potent attack.”

As for the Seahawks' defense against the run, the Bills had 164 rushing yards on 34 attempts for an average of 4.8 yards per carry. James Cook had 17 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

Overall the Seahawks ranked 29th in the league against the run, with an average of 148.4 yards allowed. They'll be challenged by Rams running back Kyren Williams, who has eight rushing touchdowns.

The Rams raised eyebrows in late August when they abruptly traded Ernest Jones, their leading tackler and defensive signal-caller, to Tennessee for a mere late-round pick upgrade in 2026 after failed negotiations on a contract extension for the fourth-year pro. Jones made 44 tackles in six games with the struggling Titans before they shipped him to Seattle for Jerome Baker and a fourth-round pick — much more than Los Angeles got for a key member of its Super Bowl championship team.

Jones made a whopping 15 tackles in his Seahawks debut last week, and now he’ll face the team that gave up on him instead of allowing him to play out his rookie contract.

Coach Sean McVay’s replacements at inside linebacker are not at Jones’ level, and the coach essentially acknowledged it this week: “I think all the decisions that we make in the moment, we feel like are in the best interest. I’m not going to pretend to act like every decision is accurate, and you try to be able to learn from it and apply it moving forward.”

Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf didn't practice on Thursday, but there were still hopes he could return Sunday from an MCL sprain that kept him out of the game against the Bills. Metcalf ranks eighth in the NFL with 568 receiving yards on 35 catches, for an average of 16.2 yards per reception, 11th most in the league.

Seattle was also optimistic about defensive end Dre’Mont Jones, who hurt his shoulder in the game. Tackle George Fant, who returned to practice last week after a knee injury in the first week of the season, could also play. But tackle Abraham Lucas, recovering for offseason knee surgery, won't be available.

Los Angeles got an enormous boost last Thursday from the returns of top receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, who combined for 12 catches for 157 yards and a TD in Matthew Stafford’s first four-TD game of the season.

The Rams are unlikely to get a similar boost from injury returns this weekend after their extra time off. Starting offensive linemen Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson are still at least another week away, although backup lineman Joe Noteboom could be available for the first time since Week 1 to help a rushing attack ranked in the league’s bottom third despite another strong season from Kyren Williams. Los Angeles also hopes to have safety Kam Curl, who was limited in practice by a knee injury.

AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles and AP freelance writer Shane Lantz in Seattle contributed to this report.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (15) celebrates after scoring a 25-yard touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Demarcus Robinson celebrates after catching a touchdown pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) catches a pass near Minnesota Vikings cornerback Stephon Gilmore (2) during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) carries the ball as Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis (22) defends during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) runs the ball against Buffalo Bills defensive end Dawuane Smoot (94) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) reacts to a call during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada jury decided Thursday that a man should serve life in state prison with no chance of parole for breaking into a room at a Las Vegas Strip hotel-casino and killing two Vietnamese tour leaders in 2018.

Julius Damiano Deangilo Trotter, 37, was spared a death sentence by the same state court jury that found him guilty on Tuesday of murder, burglary and robbery in the stabbings of Sang Boi Nghia and Khoung Ba Le Nguyen at the Circus Circus hotel.

Defense attorney Lisa Rasmussen said afterward that Trotter and his legal team appreciated the jury decision, but that Trotter will appeal his conviction and sentence “as a normal part of the criminal justice system.”

“I think everyone is grateful that Mr. Trotter was given a life sentence," Rasmussen told The Associated Press. “The jury took the death penalty off the table themselves.”

Jurors issued their decision after testimony from Trotter, his relatives and family members of Nghia and Nguyen, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Trotter was seen mouthing “thank you” to the jury after the verdict was read, the newspaper reported. Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt scheduled Trotter's sentencing Jan. 15. He remains jailed in Las Vegas.

Trotter told jurors on Wednesday that he wanted to be “a positive impact on the people around me, as far as my family, my kids, my mother, my brother and sisters, and so on.”

Nghia, 38, was a mother of three who operated a tour business with her husband in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Nguyen, 30, was one of her employees. Their bodies were found after they did not show up for a tour group trip.

Police said hotel employees later determined the room lock didn’t secure properly, and said it appeared Trotter found it unlocked while walking the hotel hallway and trying door handles.

Trotter was arrested about a week after the killings with his girlfriend, Itaska Dean, following a police chase in Chino, California.

Rasmussen acknowledged that Trotter had a prior criminal record — he was serving five years’ probation at the time of the killings after a felony conviction for resisting a police officer with a weapon. But the attorney said Trotter also had the support of a loving family.

Dean pleaded guilty in California to evading arrest. She was not charged with a crime in the slayings of Nghia and Nguyen, and testified during Trotter's trial.

Trotter also testified, denying he killed Nghia and Nguyen. But police and prosecutors said he was found with items belonging to Nghia and Nguyen including a purse, wallets, a cellphone, jewelry and Vietnamese cash.

The last person put to death in Nevada prison was Daryl Mack in April 2006, for a 1988 rape and murder in Reno. Mack asked for his lethal injection to be carried out.

FILE - Bong Le, mother of a stabbing victim Khuong Nguyen, reacts to the guilty verdict in defendant Julius Trotter's murder trial, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas. Comforting Le is Hung Quang Nguyen, husband of a stabbing victim Sang Nghia, second left, and Tuan Trinh. At rear is interpreter Jimmy Tong Nguyen. Trotter was sentenced Thursday, Oct. 31, to serve life in state prison with no chance of parole. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

FILE - Defendant Julius Trotter, a previously convicted felon who is charged with breaking into a room at a Las Vegas Strip hotel-casino and robbing and killing two Vietnamese tour leaders in June 2018, waits in the courtroom for the verdict in his murder trial, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas. Trotter was sentenced Thursday, Oct. 31, to serve life in state prison with no chance of parole. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)

Bong Le, mother of a stabbing victim Khuong Nguyen, reacts to the guilty verdict in defendant Julius Trotter's murder trial, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas. Comforting Le is Hung Quang Nguyen, husband of a stabbing victim Sang Nghia, second left, and Tuan Trinh. At rear is interpreter Jimmy Tong Nguyen. ( (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Defendant Julius Trotter, a previously convicted felon who is charged with breaking into a room at a Las Vegas Strip hotel-casino and robbing and killing two Vietnamese tour leaders in June 2018, waits in the courtroom for the verdict in his murder trial, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)